


kim jiwoo, MD

by sujiverse



Category: LOONA (Korea Band)
Genre: F/F, lots of side ships, otp: woomanna men x misery, you don't even have to squint for them
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-25
Updated: 2019-01-25
Packaged: 2019-10-16 06:19:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,167
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17544347
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sujiverse/pseuds/sujiverse
Summary: jiwoo is a smooth-talking, self-proclaimed relationship therapist. jungeun is her business partner-in-crime. they find a way to make things work.





	kim jiwoo, MD

**Author's Note:**

> inspired by netflix's sex education 
> 
> TW: some mentions of homophobia

_we gotta give out free samples, jiwoo! free samples of advice. when people figure out that you’re competent they will come back for more. and they will pay, so do it right and we’ll be earning in stacks!_ _  
_  
to be truthful, jiwoo doesn’t know what jungeun (the coolest girl in school, by the way) saw in her, but she wasn’t about to give up this once-in-a-school-term opportunity to make some money. besides, her own mother was a physiotherapist, so this wasn’t going to be that far off.  
  
right?  
  
all she has to do is blend in with hormonal teenagers at this random house party, give out some free pieces of relationship advice, and make others remember her name. jungeun was on board too, so this was going to be twice as efficient. not hard at all.  
  
jiwoo’s proven wrong when she gets kicked out of a room for being too much of a downer. in her defense, she has (a) social anxiety and (b) didn’t realise that saying “i know a lot about STIs” as a fun fact about herself would come across as more scary than it was funny. she never even got to the giving out free advice part.  
  
she’s about to retire for the night and tell jungeun that the operation was a failure when someone runs head-first into her.  
  
“heyyyyyyyy,” this girl, drunk out of her mind, stumbles into her out of nowhere.  
  
jiwoo steadies her, pinning her against the wall so she doesn’t lose her footing and fall down the stairs to her inevitable death.  
  
jiwoo’s supposed to be giving out relationship advice, not taking care of some random girl who’s wasted on cheap alcohol. she can already jungeun chiding her for getting distracted from their mission. with that in mind, jiwoo carefully guides her into the guest bedroom with a steady arm on her waist. she just hopes the host doesn’t mind.  
  
jiwoo lays the girl down on the bed, watching her eyes flutter close. “you have a rough night ahead, buddy,” jiwoo tells her with a sigh, “who broke your heart?”  
  
“no one. i drank because i can’t choose between two people,” the girl says with a dopey grin. jiwoo gapes at her. she hadn’t expected a reply, let alone one that was coherent.  
  
“spoiled for choices, eh? you look like you would be,” jiwoo replies with a teasing grin. she’s half-expecting the girl to not even register the compliment.  
  
and she’s surprised yet again. the girl opens her eyes and smirks, turning to face jiwoo on her side. “i’m pretty! oh my god, you’re pretty toooooo! what’s your naaaaame? i’m hay… no, wait. han…. i’m ha… ah! i got it! i’m haseul.”  
  
“that’s a great name,” jiwoo giggles, “i’m jiwoo!”  
  
“jiwoooooooooo… you remind me of my friend vivi. she’s cute, like you,” haseul frowns a little at the thought. “i like her so much.”  
  
“hm? then what’s the problem?”  
  
the drunken girl groans, turning back to lie face down on the bed. she nuzzles her face into the pillow, saying something. her voice is muffled, though she clearly says something back.  
  
“sorry, what was that?”  
  
haseul tilts her head up a little. “i reaaaaaally like both of them! but only vivi likes me back. what do i dooooo…” haseul voice trails off as she plops down onto the pillow again, snuffing out her own voice.  
  
“like everything in life, you gotta give it a try, haseul. nothing’s going to happen if you don’t try,” jiwoo speaks from her heart. the girl raises her head again, frowning, deep in thought.  
  
“vivi, what’s she like?”  
  
“world hard and cold, vivi soft and warm…” haseul says giddily.  
  
“oh girl,” jiwoo laughs, “if you like her that much, why not be with her?”  
  
“but what if i hurt her…” haseul’s eyes widen in horror as she yells, “what if i hurt BOTH OF THEM?!”  
  
“you don’t look like a heartbreaker to me,” jiwoo says sincerely. “besides, that’s inevitable when you have two people to choose between. and vivi likes you!”  
  
“mmmmmmm i think you’re right! i like vivi too… mmmm, vivi!” the girl suddenly giggles, breaking out into a song.  
  
it takes a while for jiwoo to register her slurring as “i like dudududududu, you like dudududududu…”  
  
“alright, alright, no more pristin,” jiwoo says through giggles, “you have a beautiful voice, but you should go to sleep, haseul.”  
  
the girl does, knocking out after patting jiwoo’s hands as thanks.  
  
with that, jiwoo leaves the room, hardly expecting that to have gone as well for her as it did. haseul remembered her, and even more importantly, her words of advice. she spread the word, and thus, jiwoo the love and relationship therapist was born.  
  
x x  
  
“here’s your cut,” jungeun says, handing her a fifty dollar bill.  
  
“thanks!” jiwoo relishes the feeling of earning her own money for the first time in her life.  
  
it’s not that she needs the money—she’s pretty sure jungeun needs it more than her. she’s in it for the fulfillment this ‘job’ brings.  
  
in the past week, she has helped two couples get together, helped another confess (though sadly he got rejected), fixed a struggling couple’s persistent miscommunication (one of them didn’t know her phone was on ‘do not disturb’ and hence missed one too many calls) and, maybe the icing on the cake, got closer to jungeun.    
  
_fulfillment_. jiwoo smiles a little to herself when jungeun suggests that they have lunch together.  
  
sure, they were never friends, and probably still aren’t. sure, jiwoo thinks the girl is really pretty and whatever. sure, they were just business partners because jungeun chanced upon her comforting a crying girl in the bathroom. sure.  
  
(nothing else is going to come out of it, for sure.)  
  
x x  
  
“so you like like her,” jiwoo says, observing the girl’s reaction.  
  
the athlete’s face turns beet red. “i don’t know! how would i know? am i supposed to just know?”  
  
“well… how do you feel when you look at heejin? when you watch her… dance? how does that make you feel?”  
  
“it feels funny,” hyunjin answers truthfully, her eyes following the basketball game being played in front of her. she sighs deeply before continuing, “look, i’ve never liked anything other than playing sports in my whole life. and now instead of thinking about how much i can score in a game, i’m thinking about how heejin will be watching me play. i’m thinking about how i’ll make her proud if i play well. i’m scared to screw up because i don’t want her to think that i’m a literal loser. what does that even mean?”  
  
jiwoo laughs softly as she sees how confused the younger girl is. “it sounds a lot like she’s making you nervous.”  
  
“she does,” hyunjin replies without even hesitating. she freezes up when she processes what she just said. jiwoo nods thoughtfully, knowing just what she needs to do.  
  
“just do something for me real quick, darling, picture her face. what does she look like?”  
  
“ugh, do i have to do this? this is so stupid,” hyunjin groans. when jiwoo doesn’t relent, she dips her head, muttering something under her breath.  
  
“i’m sorry, what was that?” jiwoo teases.  
  
“i said she looks pretty.” hyunjin adds hurriedly, “if you tell anyone i said that, i will make sure you don’t get any customers ever again.”  
  
“those are empty threats. i would never divulge clientele information. now, for the more important question… why do you think she makes you nervous? is it just because you find her pretty?”  
  
“i don’t know! you’re supposed to fucking help me, not confuse me!” her tone is defensive. jiwoo gives her an encouraging look instead of a further prompt.  
  
hyunjin needs to figure this out herself.  
  
“heejin, she… she makes me nervous because i’m scared of how she makes me feel. i’ve never had anything to lose, you know? i’m basically assured a full ride to the college i want already because i’ve always been good at school and basketball. i always have amazing friends and i’m constantly surrounded by good people. my parents are supportive and loving and my brothers would kick the asses of anyone who tries to hurt me.”  
  
jiwoo nods, watching hyunjin take a deep breath before continuing. she can’t seem to tear her gaze away from a figure in the distance.  
  
it’s almost like magic, jiwoo thinks, following her line of sight to find that on the other end is heejin, chatting with some of her friends.  
  
“and then there’s her. popular head girl jeon heejin who just randomly comes into the picture. we became friends so fast. one day i just realised i would make time over anything just to talk to her. now i’m terrified because what if… what if i like her too much? what if i’m willing to give all of that up in this perfect life that was built for me because i want to be with her? and then what, if it doesn't work out?  
  
hyunjin leans back on the bench, closing her eyes. she adds, grinning faintly, “and god, she’s so pretty looking at her makes my heart hurt sometimes.”  
  
“life isn’t supposed to be perfect,” jiwoo comments. hyunjin snaps her head in her direction, looking at her with glossy eyes. “what if- what if you don’t have to give up anything to have her? you wouldn’t know if you didn’t try. imagine how happy you would make each other.”  
  
"she already makes me happy all the time," hyunjin replies with a shy smile on her face. it falters a little when she sees heejin talking to a male friend from class.  
  
"jealous?" jiwoo asks. hyunjin just lets out a grunt.  
  
"stupid hansol," hyunjin complains, "stupid me."  
  
"you're not stupid. you're allowed to feel that way! and since you feel so strongly about hansol and his advances, maybe you should do something about it?"  
  
the gears seem to be turning in hyunjin’s head. for such an emotionally repressed person, she sure dealt with all of this better than jiwoo had expected. she flashes a smile. “when you say it like that… maybe i do like like her. i think you’re right jiwoo, i really do. now the question is whether she was flirting with me, or she was just being nice when she told me she can’t stop thinking about me…”  
  
jiwoo’s jaw drops.  
  
“these fucking lesbians…” she whispers.  
  
hyunjin hums distractedly, still staring at the faraway girl. “what was that?”  
  
“nothing! i have a feeling she likes you back. uh…” jiwoo watches as heejin turns, catching hyunjin’s gaze. she waves enthusiastically, quickly bidding hansol and her friends goodbye before running over to where they are.  
  
“i think you know what you need to do,” jiwoo says with a laugh.  
  
“no i don’t! jiwoo!”  
  
jiwoo gets up despite her protests, leaving a helpless hyunjin on the bench. “just tell her. everything you told me, tell her. i have a hunch you’ll know where to take it from there.”  
  
the girl nods but never gets to say her thanks, because heejin tackles her in a hug that takes the wind and words out of her.  
  
the next morning, jiwoo catches them arriving to school together, hand-in-hand.  
  
“they’re cute together,” jungeun tells her, noticing the smile on jiwoo’s face while she was observing them. “you’re a pretty amazing therapist, you know that?”  
  
only two weeks into their little operation, and jungeun’s already impressed with her. jiwoo tries her hardest not to grin too widely. “thanks. you’re not so bad yourself.”  
  
“please,” jungeun replies with a wink, already sashaying to her next class. “i know you think i’m super cool. you don’t have to hide it anymore.”  
  
“k-keep thinking that, you… you dumbass!” jungeun waves without even looking back, though jiwoo can clearly hear her amused laughter.  
  
_yeah, still the coolest person in the school._ _  
_  
x x  
  
jiwoo usually takes appointments from her clients, even the regulars. jungeun arranges them for her, and she just needs to show up.  
  
joowon, apparently, is not aware of what an appointment is. she appears at jiwoo’s locker one day, scaring her to bits. the faux therapist jumps a little when she comes face-to-face with her lab partner after shutting her locker.  
  
“yerim wants to break up with me because apparently it’s wrong for me to hug yerim.”  
  
_what’s this, free therapy day?_ _  
_ _  
_ “joowon, i’m not- wait what? come again?”  
  
joowon begs, “kim yerim, my girlfriend, wants to break up with me because i hugged choi yerim when i saw her. help me, jiwoo. please?”  
  
joowon pulls out the big doe eyes and a pout, so jiwoo softens a little. “fine, so what’s the big deal?”  
  
“well, you know yerim. she’s like a sister to me.”  
  
“ew!”  
  
“choi yerim! choi yerim is like a sister to me!”  
  
“well, does kim yerim know that? do you hug your girlfriend when you see her?” jiwoo huffs, crossing her arms. kim yerim was a close friend who had come to her on more occasions than one to complain about how much of an ass joowon can unknowingly be.  
  
“the day we fought… i was going to apologise and explain that to her, but i fell asleep once i got home.”  
  
“lee joowon, oh my god…” jiwoo rubs her temple with both hands before continuing, “so do you hug her or not?”  
  
“no…? we’ve never been an openly—” her eyes drift to sooyoung and jungeun making out just a few steps away from them. “—affectionate couple.”  
  
“what’s yerim’s love language?” jiwoo asks, slightly frustrated when joowon gets tongue-tied. “god, do you even care about her?”  
  
joowon narrows her eyes, twisting and staring at the ring around her index finger. “it’s physical touch. and i care about her! i do… so much. i just don’t know how to show it. i’m just not good at these things. hugging and all that makes me squeamish and you know that. she knows that.”  
  
“you have no problem doing it with choi yerim, though,” jiwoo points out.  
  
“yerim’s like a sister to me! i don’t get flustered or sweaty around her because she doesn’t have that effect on me. it’s just different.”  
  
jiwoo sighs sympathetically. even without knowing the details, she has already pieced together the puzzle that is their relationship. like a detective revealing the solution to a mystery, she explains, “yerim’s disappointed because choi yerim is the exception to your no-skinship rule. she’s upset that you can’t make an exception for her, the girlfriend. you don’t make her feel special enough to you. i know you love her, but you’re not doing a very good job of showing it, you know?”  
  
joowon rests her head on the locker, closing her eyes in frustration. “i know,” she grumbles, “i’m really dumb when it comes to shit like this.”  
  
“intimacy comes in a lot of forms. you don’t have to—” she flinches when she sees jungeun manhandle sooyoung, pushing her roughly against the lockers, making a loud crash. “—kiss in public or whatever. hold her hand when she doesn’t expect you to. smile when she’s telling you about her day. tell her you love her, don’t just do it over text. and if you’re going to hug choi yerim, you’re gonna at least hug kim yerim when you see her. you may cringe thinking about doing all these things, but if you love her and you want her to know how much you do, you have to learn how to show it in ways that she clearly understands. can you do that?”  
  
“i think... i think i can. i’ll apologise to her right now. thanks, jiwoo, i owe you one!” joowon says, patting jiwoo on the cheek.  
  
the girl swats the hand away.  
  
“you’re welcome!” she calls out to joowon’s retreating figure, “you gotta pay the next time!”  
  
before she leaves, she glances down the hallway. there jungeun was, leaning against the lockers, waving at her. sooyoung whispers something into her ear that momentarily distracts her.  
  
she clears her throat, flashing a small smile back before turning away with a sour taste in her mouth.  
  
x x  
  
jiwoo didn’t expect her day to have ended with therapy for one of the most adorable couples on campus, but here she was. chaewon and hyejoo sit opposite her, hands joined. jungeun’s concerned warning resurfaces in her head.  
  
_they said they'll discuss it with you. just, be gentle? i feel like it might be serious._  
  
the "love guru" tilts her head, looking at them confusedly. they still haven’t told her what this was about.  
  
hyejoo’s leg shakes violently from under the table. her girlfriend notices, putting a hand on her knee to stop her from doing that. jiwoo doesn’t miss the way chaewon’s eyes soften, silently asking her girlfriend to calm down. the girl does.  
to jiwoo, and probably anyone else, they don’t seem to have any problems.  
  
which makes the fact that this session exists all the more confusing.  
  
“so,” chaewon starts, inhaling deeply. “i told my parents about me and hyejoo. they… uh...”  
  
chaewon stumbles over her words a little, seemingly choking up.  
  
“they didn’t like that their only daughter turned out to be gay… so they kicked me out.”  
  
hyejoo turns away to wipe a falling tear. jiwoo’s mouth drops open in shock.  
  
“look, i know you’re just supposed to give relationship advice or whatever, but i kind of need your wisdom on this one. they said i can go back if i break up with her… but i don’t think i can ever do that. i don’t have any money whatsoever, and i can’t keep living in hyejoo’s house expecting her family to be okay with raising an extra child. it’s not fair to them… what should i do, jiwoo? what do i do?”  
  
jiwoo stands up abruptly, panting heavily. a sense of panic overwhelms her, and she turns away to face the wall. the smell of the science lab suddenly feels too pungent.  
  
“jiwoo? i… i really need your help.”  
  
“i’m not… i’m not qualified enough for this. i’m sorry. you should call child protection services, chaewon. i don’t think they are legally allowed to do that.”  
  
“i turned 18 last month,” chaewon replies almost bitterly, “so they can do that, apparently. just tell me what i should do other than engage services that won’t give a shit about me, please.”  
  
her voice cracks slightly at the end. jiwoo takes a seat after trying to calm herself down didn’t work. “chaewon i… this is really out of my element.”  
  
jiwoo makes eye contact with hyejoo, whose pleading look causes her heart to constrict.  
  
“do you know any adult that will be willing to take you in? like an aunt or…”  
  
she shakes her head. “we moved here a few years back. the rest of my family lives half the country away.”  
  
jiwoo curses under her breath.  
  
“i told you you could continue to stay at my house,” hyejoo says softly, looking down to their hands.  
  
“hey, we’ve talked about this. i can’t, not when your dad just lost his job. your mum may say she’s okay with it, but i’m not.”  
  
jiwoo hadn’t expected things to take such a turn. she doesn’t know why the two of them placed so much importance on her words and advice, but she’s starting to panic again from the thought of potentially saying the wrong thing and ruining their lives forever.  
  
a figurative light bulb goes off in her head.  
  
she’s thinking too much like a therapist, and too little like a decent human being.  
  
“you can stay with me.”  
  
two pairs of eyes widen at the suggestion. “what? jiwoo, i can’t ask that of you! that’s not why i called for this meeting either…”  
  
jiwoo breaks out into a grin, assuring her, “i don’t want to brag or anything but my mum makes a lot of money, and she still has the monthly settlement fee from my dad to go along with it. we live quite comfortably. and she’s always complaining about how quiet the house is. i’m sure she would be more than happy to take you in.”  
  
“i… ” chaewon says in a small voice, looking at her girlfriend. hyejoo nods at her with a wide grin on her face, placing a quick kiss on her cheek.  
  
“we can’t thank you enough, jiwoo,” hyejoo says on behalf of a speechless chaewon.  
  
“you don’t have to. i’m not doing you a favour… this is the duty of a friend, right?”  
  
“so we’re friends now?” chaewon laughs through happy tears, jokingly adding, “i paid for this therapy session.”  
  
hyejoo slaps her on the arm for that one, to which chaewon just turns and rests her forehead on her girlfriend’s. they get lost in their own little world for a few seconds, and jiwoo just watches with a smile on her face. she feels tears threatening to fall as she sees how happy she’s made the couple.  
  
when chaewon finally peels away, jiwoo grins back. “i’ll give you a refund.”  
  
x x  
  
“hey, you alright?”  
  
the concerned voice reels her back into reality.  
  
_no. i’m mourning my fleeting existence and contemplating the meaning of my life. i’m deciding if this whole therapy thing is ethically sound, and if not, why i continue to find the need to do it. i’m also worried about what would happen if someone like chaewon came up to me with a request for advice i’m not qualified enough to give, and i am burdened by the immense trust people have in me. i don’t know how to tell you all this because i saw that you haven’t changed your broken wallet and bag for months now, and you clearly need the money. i don’t understand why you keep insisting on giving me my cut when i told you you can take mine. i really like being friends with you and sometimes i wish we could be… wait._ _  
_ _  
_ _um, that took a turn._ _  
_  
jiwoo gulps and just nods, staring at the cross country team running laps around the track. “yeah, fine. just thinking.”  
  
“mind if i think beside you? i’ll be quiet, i promise,” jungeun promises in a low voice. jiwoo laughs a little.  
  
“this isn’t a library? there aren’t any librarians here.”  
  
“shhh! lower your voice! you’re interrupting my thinking,” jungeun chides, putting a finger on her lips.  
  
jiwoo, amused, just sits back and closes her eyes. she appreciates the silence more than she would like to admit. just moments later, she feels her head being guided onto a firm shoulder, and wills herself to not tense up.  
  
“if you’re worrying, don’t.”  
  
“who said i was—“  
  
“you don’t have to say anything. i can tell from the look on your face,” jungeun tells her softly. “if this is about the clinic, i think you’re doing great.”  
  
jiwoo smiles, eyes closed. “if you say so,” she replies, not really believing it, but glad to receive some assurance anyway.  
  
she relaxes finally, letting her cheek sink into jungeun’s shoulder, realising that it maybe isn’t so bad to have some company while she mules over some things.  
  
x x  
  
she leans against on of the chairs in the empty gym, watching jungeun approach her.  
  
her heartbeat picks up, as it seems to always do around the girl nowadays. she pushes away any of those thoughts, the image of sooyoung kissing her against the lockers burned into her brain. as a relationship therapist, it wouldn’t look good on her to be thinking about someone else’s girlfriend like that.  
  
which is also why she’s been avoiding jungeun for the past few days, besides for work. not only is she sure that stealing another girl’s girlfriend’s shoulder is definitely breaking a rule of the girl code, she also does not want to be mistaken as a homewrecker.  
  
that would not be good for business. or her reputation.  
  
still, avoiding someone like jungeun never works. all the girls does is texts her that they have a “code red situation”, and jiwoo’s legs are already taking her to the stipulated place.  
  
“hey!” jungeun greets, jogging over to take a seat beside her. _what a sight for sore eyes._ _  
_  
jiwoo immediately rescinds that thought.  
  
“hi,” she says back with a smile. “why were you looking for me?”  
  
“i got a new assignment for you,” jungeun tells her, rummaging through her jean pocket and fishing out a twenty-dollar bill. “it’s sooyoung.”  
  
jiwoo sputters, “sooyoung?! you… you want me to do therapy for you and your girlfriend?”  
  
“girlfriend?!” now it’s jungeun’s turn to gape at her. “she’s not my girlfriend! what makes you think that?”  
  
“you… you were kissing in the hallway that day,” jiwoo replies hesitantly. she feels heat rush into her cheeks, the air around her becoming warmer.  
  
“when she approached me to get a slot with you, she asked me for a favour as well. maybe you’ll understand it better when she gets here.”  
  
with that said, sooyoung pokes her head through the gym door, catching their attention. jiwoo can only furrow her eyebrows.  
  
the frown only deepens when she witnesses jungeun and sooyoung carry out an elaborate handshake.  
  
“what? we’re bros now,” jungeun explains when she sees the expression on jiwoo’s face.  
  
“oh hi jiwoo! i have a situation. i thought you might be able to help me out,” sooyoung begins, nervously playing with her hands. jiwoo asks her to sit down.  
  
“sure, what’s up?” jiwoo asks politely, before turning to jungeun who’s now seated a few chairs away, listening intently. “are you going to stay here and listen in on confidential information?”  
  
jungeun rolls her eyes. “i know everything already. sooyoung doesn’t mind.”  
  
“yeah, i don’t!” the girl replies. jiwoo can only sigh.  
  
jungeun is really distracting. much more so now that jiwoo realises she’s single. she tries her best to ignore the fluttering in her stomach when jungeun winks at her.  
  
“i have an enormous crush on a taken woman.”  
  
well, that sucks. jiwoo knows how that feels like.  
  
_wait no, she’s single now…_ _  
_ _  
_ _shut up! it’s never going to happen!_ _  
_  
she feels a pair of eyes not belonging to sooyoung staring at her, and just knows she must be flushed right now.  
  
“oh, that’s… that is rough. i’m sorry.”  
  
“don’t be, it’s my idiot ass that’s at fault anyway. i let her go first,” sooyoung sighs.  
  
“what do you mean?”  
  
sooyoung shrugs. “i’ve been pining for months… and one day she tells me she likes this girl and i just tell her to go for it. now they’re kind of dating and i don’t know what to do.”  
  
“kind of?” jiwoo asks, looking to jungeun who might provide a little more insight.  
  
unsurprisingly, jungeun replies, “they are more than friends.”  
  
“best friends?”  
  
“no… like more than that.”  
  
“mega best friends?”  
  
even sooyoung shakes her head at that one.  
  
“you know for a relationship therapist, you’re kind of clueless,” jungeun deadpans, before breaking out into a hearty laugh. jiwoo pouts and she finally relents, explaining that no, they weren’t dating officially yet, but yes, they were very into each other. and the thing is, that girl used to like sooyoung too, and was in the process of getting over her just as sooyoung started pining. they only knew of this when she jokingly confessed to sooyoung after revealing she had feelings for someone else. it sounds complicated, but it gets worse, as jiwoo finds out.  
  
“vivi asked haseul to be her girlfriend, but she refused. she’s making me think that i have a chance, which sucks, because what if i don’t and it’s all in my head?” sooyoung bottom lip juts out as she rests her head on her hands.  
  
haseul.  
  
haseul?  
  
could it be the same haseul as the one at the party? jiwoo looks away, trying to control her widening eyes.  
  
“that’s why we kissed in the hallway, by the way. to make haseul jealous… or something.”  
  
sooyoung shoots a finger gun in jungeun’s direction. “i have no idea whether it worked, but i guess we tried.” she turns to jiwoo, continuing, “so now what? any ideas?”  
  
jiwoo ignores the way her hands are shaking. “does haseul know about your feelings?”  
  
“no,” sooyoung says sadly, “i didn’t want to ruin things for her.”  
  
“but now you’re doing just that..?”  
  
“i don’t know! i just wanted her to give a reaction or something… some kind of sign that maybe the reason she doesn’t want to be with vivi just yet is because of me. but she hasn’t done any of that, and i’m tired of waiting. i… i just want her to do something.”  
  
sooyoung’s face falls as she seems to come to a quick conclusion, “god, what am i doing? i’m a terrible person.”  
  
she’s getting up to leave when jiwoo stops her.  
  
“wait! i’m supposed to help you…”  
  
sooyoung just shakes her head with a small smile. “you did, jiwoo. being here and listening to myself talk… i’ve realised that what i need to do is just feel happy for her. i lost the chance, and she’s moved on. she has made it pretty clear, actually. i think that’s as good a situation as it can get.”  
  
“you’re seriously just going to leave her in the dark? you’re alright with— she’ll... she’ll never know how she’s unintentionally hurting you all the time!”  
  
“maybe. probably. but wouldn’t you?” sooyoung asks, still smiling even though it doesn’t reach her eyes. the girl turns to leave, but not without a tight hug from jungeun. jiwoo leans back on her own chair, closing her eyes and counting to ten to calm down her racing heart.  
  
it’s rare that her therapy sessions don’t work out as they should. usually, she gets her clients the happy ending they want. but not this time.  
  
because she ruined it for sooyoung.  
  
“don’t be sad,” jungeun comments, taking a seat beside her, “she’ll be fine. probably find a new hobby to fixate on for a while, buy some crop tops, mope around, and then she’ll get on with life. that’s just how the universe works.”  
  
“well, i don’t like how the universe works. we’re already suffering as it is. the only thing standing between her and a happy life with haseul was bad timing. bad timing!” jiwoo huffs, “i know some things can’t be helped, and her situation was basically a series of misfortunes… but why does that have to happen in the first place? i hate it. i just.. i just hate it.”  
  
jungeun’s about to reply something when jiwoo continues.  
  
“i’m not built for this, jungeun. i can’t keep waltzing around and poking my nose where i don’t belong. i’ll just ruin more lives. you know why this sooyoung thing upsets me so much? because i told haseul to go for vivi. i ruined sooyoung’s happiness. she won’t get the girl she likes because of me.”  
  
“you did what?” jungeun frowns.  
  
“remember how you told me to give out ‘free samples’ at the party? well, i did. and the first person i talked to was haseul. she told me she was choosing between two people, one whom she thinks likes her and another that doesn’t… and i did what i’ve always thought was the right thing to do. i gave advice from my heart. and look where that’s gotten me. yesterday i almost had a panic attack when someone asked me what they should do after getting kicked out of their house. and if someone else comes to me with the same problem, am i going to take them in too? i don’t have what it in me to say no. i… i think this clinic is over, jungeun.”  
  
“no it’s not,” jungeun raises her voice, defensive. “you didn’t ruin anyone’s life, jiwoo. you… you offered park chaewon a place to stay, didn’t you?”  
  
“how did you know that?” jiwoo asks in surprise.  
  
“she told me. and then she asked me what you liked because she wanted to get you something nice in return,” jungeun explains with a grin. “you’re a good fake-therapist, and an even better person. don’t be silly. people don’t come to you for a magical fix for their love lifes. they come to you because they want someone to hear them out. someone who wouldn’t judge them. someone who actually cares.”  
  
“i literally get paid to do that,” jiwoo jokes. jungeun shrugs.  
  
“yeah, but still! people like sooyoung come because they need someone like you in their lives. even if they have to pay for it.”  
  
their eyes meet, and both of them laugh softly.  
  
“thanks. you’re the best business partner a girl can ever ask for.”  
  
jungeun shrugs, still grinning. all of a sudden, jiwoo becomes acutely aware of the hand that’s been placed on hers while she was rambling.  
  
_it’s so soft._ _  
_  
x x  
  
“jiwoo!”  
  
she whips her head around, coming face-to-face with none other than jungeun, running after her.  
  
“i’ve been trying to get your attention for the past minute,” jungeun says in between pants. her cheeks are rosy from all the chasing. jiwoo apologises with a laugh, pulling on her bag straps, suddenly unsure where to place her hands.  
  
“we have an assignment,” jungeun beams at her. “we’re going to help heejin ask hyunjin to prom!”  
  
jiwoo gasps, taken aback. “we’re doing event planning now? i thought this was just therapy! i don’t know how to ask a girl out to prom!”  
  
“look, hyunjin’s gonna say yes anyway, and heejin’s willing to pay lots for us to come up for ideas for her. i think she’s like a russian princess or something, but i’m too scared to ask. point is, she has the money, we might as well help her get her girl.”  
  
“even though she already has the girl?” jiwoo jokes in amusement.  
  
“sure, yeah, why not?” jungeun changes her approach, seeing that jiwoo is unconvinced. she latches onto one of her arms and whines, “awwww, come on! you’re already a therapist, there’s no need to be any more of a buzzkill. we can shop for flowers and research about love songs together! it’ll be fuuuuun.”  
  
jiwoo ignores the way her knees almost give way when jungeun comes so close that she can basically smell her fabric softener. she blinks rapidly, taking a step back. the heat radiating off of her cheeks is enough to give her an indication that she probably appears just like jungeun right now, breathing heavily and looking like she just ran a mile.  
  
“okay,” she replies in a small voice.  
  
jungeun celebrates by hooking an arm around her shoulder, leading the way.  
  
“so, miss jiwoo, what flowers will be good?”  
  
jiwoo laughs, letting her arm fall naturally onto jungeun’s waist. “uh sunflowers? i like sunflowers…”  
  
“sunflowers it is! now, we have to decide on the music…”  
  
x x  
  
jiwoo finds it strange that heejin doesn’t feel the need to meet them at all, but pays it no mind. jungeun tells her it’s because heejin trusts them, and frankly doesn’t have enough time between head girl duties and dance club to come for their planning sessions, which makes lots of sense.  
  
“the field?”  
  
“tacky, and the soccer players will be too rowdy.”  
  
“hm, the basketball court?”  
  
“hyunjin would probably be there right after school ends. we won’t have time to decorate!”  
  
jungeun curses, “shit… you’re right. cafeteria?”  
  
“oooh, we could clear out half the area. you’re pretty scary, you can do it,” jiwoo teases.  
  
jungeun scoffs before realising that jiwoo was serious. she frowns a little.  
  
“you think i’m scary?”  
  
startled by jungeun’s change in demeanour, jiwoo hurriedly replies, “no! i mean.. at first? you’re pretty intimidating without meaning to. it’s…” jiwoo gestures vaguely at jungeun’s face and chest area.  
  
“the hair? the face? the vibes?” jiwoo nods at every single thing, and jungeun throws her head back to laugh, “alright, i get what you mean. i do have a resting bitch face.”  
  
“i didn’t say that!” jiwoo defends herself, hands raised in surrender.  
  
“well you implied it!” jungeun retorts.  
  
“i… i don’t think you’re a bitch. never did. you were just cool. very cool.” jiwoo looks away, muttering, “cool cool cool cool cool.”  
  
_quoting jake peralta when you’re nervous? seriously, jiwoo?_ _  
_  
luckily for her, jungeun laughs.  
  
“well, i mean you were kinda meep morp, zeep… zorp. i am a robot.” jungeun’s robot voice is pretty shitty, but it gets the job done. jiwoo flings a paper ball in her direction, laughing.  
  
jungeun retaliated with her own jake peralta reference. jiwoo feels her heart grow twice in size.  
  
“i can’t believe we met in the toilet,” jiwoo remarks, putting down the origami paper in her hands. hyunjin’s paper cranes can wait. jungeun does the same.  
  
“that was funny. you were just comforting this girl that got dumped by her boyfriend and i—“  
  
“peeked in from the next cubicle, yeah. and then you gave me a business proposal. i remember what happened. not yout best moment, honestly.”  
  
jungeun also laughs at the memory, “did you know i nearly fell into the toilet? would have been a disaster, really.”  
  
jiwoo gapes in amusement. “if you had done that i wouldn’t have been scared of you for the next month or so!”  
  
“damn, maybe i should have… is it really that bad?” jungeun gestured vaguely to herself again, concerned.  
  
“no…? you were always staring at me when i walked past you!” jiwoo replies, making sure to appear hesitant. like she expected, jungeun catches her sly grin and scrunches her nose at her. first comes the playful glare. then comes the punch on her arm.  
  
jiwoo gasps at her audacity, immediately throwing one back.  
  
“ow!” jungeun purposely falls backwards with an exaggerated wince. it didn’t even hurt. jiwoo flutters her eyelids innocently, raising her fist again. jungeun pleads mockingly, “i yield! i yield! dear god, please have mercy!”  
  
jiwoo feels the familiar heat on her face as she playfully punches jungeun on the arm one last time.  
  
“you’re such a fucking loser.”  
  
jungeun smirks. “oh? i thought you said i was cool!”  
  
it’s safe to say they didn’t get any work done that day.  
  
x x  
  
“there’s this girl that i like. i don’t understand why she doesn’t want to go with me to prom. i have tried every romantic gesture i could find online.”  
  
“did you try asking her?” jiwoo asks.  
  
“that was the first thing i did. she said she was flattered, but she’s seeing someone else at the moment. but things can change, right? and she was flattered.” the look on yisup’s face is hopeful.  
  
“you said she was seeing someone,” jiwoo explains gently, trying to lessen the blow to this clueless boy’s heart, “maybe she just isn’t interested in you?”  
  
“i mean, she said she’s seeing someone, but the only person she hangs out with is kim yerim. so, she’s clearly lying. maybe she’s trying to tell me that i should try again? send a bigger bouquet?”  
  
jiwoo blinks hard. “could this girl you’re interested in happen to be lee joowon?”  
  
“yes! wow, you’re amazing. you could guess that?”  
  
“yisup, sweetie… i don’t know how to tell you this but… joowon and yerim have been in a steady relationship for two years now. they have their rough patches, but they’re still very much in love. i’m sorry, but you really don’t have a chance with her.”  
  
jiwoo has to emphasise, “like, at all.”  
  
yisup drops his head, contemplating her words. suddenly, he lifts his head, the hopeful expression back on his face. “you said they have rough patches right? what if they’re having one right now and they’re about to break up?”  
  
“joowon returned you your flowers, didn’t she?”  
  
“yes, but they might have still been together then!”  
  
“yisup, you sent them two days ago! and you said there was a cake you sent to her doorstep just yesterday?”  
  
“well, her dad brought it in. she might not have seen it! or my card…”  
  
“yisup, i think the answer is no. and no means no.”  
  
yisup sighs, before turning to face jiwoo with a fire in his eyes. “unless it means yes.”  
  
jiwoo resists rolling her eyes. “again, yisup, she’s not into you. you can’t force a girl to like you. especially not when she’s clearly in love with someone else!”  
  
yisup groans, “but i love her…”  
  
“that doesn’t mean you’re entitled to anything, yisup,” jiwoo says, patting his back. “you’ll find someone one day buddy. i’m sure one out of the seven billion people in this world will love the romantic gestures you do for them.” jiwoo feels compelled to add, “but not joowon. definitely not joowon.”  
  
yisup sniffs, looking up at jiwoo again. “then, do you think jungeun will like me?”  
  
“jungeun? kim jungeun?” jiwoo scoffs before collecting herself. even i don’t have a chance with her… “sorry, i mean… uh… she seems like she may be kind of? not? into boys? like at all. i’m not sure if you’ve heard the rumours.”  
  
“you’re saying she might be gay?”  
  
“actually…” jiwoo puts a finger on her chin and thinks about how jungeun dresses. the leather jackets, piercings, flannels, flared pants…  
  
she decides, “no. she’s definitely gay.”  
  
“bummer… but maybe i can make her straight?”  
  
jiwoo retracts the hand on his back.  
  
“you know what, yisup? no. hell no. what the fuck do they teach you boys in sex ed?”  
  
x x  
  
“so there i was, sitting on the bed as sooyoung…”  
  
jiwoo doesn’t hear the rest of jinsoul’s sentence, as she rereads the text jungeun sent her a minute ago, trying to craft a response.  
  
[jungeun] are serenades still in fashion?  
[jiwoo] depends on who you’re asking for!  
[jiwoo] though if this is for hyunjin, yes, she’ll love it. that one’s a big softie  
  
jinsoul makes eye contact with jiwoo, who hums in reply to whatever she just said (that she totally missed).  
  
“and then we decide not to go through with it because she still has feelings for that girl and i…”  
  
[jungeun] are you sure? isn’t it kinda cringey or whatever  
[jungeun] what if the person doing it isn’t good at singing  
[jungeun] though, heejin’s probably amazing at it i don’t think there’s anything she can’t do  
  
jiwoo laughs softly.  
  
[jiwoo] yeah she’s amazing idk how she does it  
[jiwoo] i mean, still… it’s the thought that counts!!!  
[jiwoo] i would love it even if a dying seal confessed to me with a song  
  
“jiwoo? are you listening?”  
  
[jungeun] but you’re you  
[jungeun somebody could tell you they murdered someone for you and you would thank them while calling the police  
  
jiwoo giggles again, “yeah, totally.”  
  
“so i found out yesterday that i have three feet instead of two, weird right?” jinsoul huffs, crossing her arms.  
  
“yeah, super weird,” jiwoo replies, not even looking up from her phone.  
  
angry, jinsoul takes matters into her own hands, locking jiwoo’s phone for her and taking it away. the girl doesn’t even get to see which meme jungeun sent her this time.  
  
jiwoo protests, reaching for her phone. her friend uses her superior height advantage to dangle the phone above her head, reading the notifications off her lock screen.  
  
“jungeun says…’see you later jiwooming, i can’t wait’.” jinsoul makes a loud gasp, whisper-shouting, “you’re going on a date with jungeun? what the hell! without even telling me?”  
  
jiwoo takes her surprise as a chance to grab her phone, holding it protectively to her chest. “it’s not a date!” she replies, flustered that jinsoul would even think that way.  
  
“she said she can’t wait to meet you. please…” jinsoul drawls.  
  
“we’re just planning a promposal for our clients! there’s nothing going on becvause we’re professional buiness partners,” jiwoo replies. she realises how unconvincing she sounds. jinsoul shakes her head from across the table, having seen through her. they’ve been friends for half their lives after all.  
  
“how long?” jinsoul repeats when jiwoo adamantly maintains her silence, “how long, kim jiwoo? don’t make me pull out the pinky promise…”  
  
the pinky promise they made in middle school to make sure they never keep any secrets from each other. jiwoo could never go against it.  
  
“fine! i think it’s been slowly building up ever since the clinic started…”  
  
“you’ve liked her for three months?!” jinsoul yells. it attracts the eyes of a few others in the cafe. jiwoo ducks her head, embarrassed. “honestly, i knew you could get anyone to like you if you tried, but wow. kim jungeun. you’re really something else. i’m so proud of you!”  
  
“shut up!” jiwoo scolds, avoiding the hands that have reached across the table to pinch her cheeks. “she doesn’t like me. not like that.”  
  
“is that why she spends every bit of her free time with you? it’s not like she doesn’t have other friends right?” jinsoul asks, raising her eyebrows and smiling smugly. when jiwoo looks like she’s at a loss for words, she adds, “ladies and gentlemen… we got her.”  
  
“god, i’m literally paid to be a matchmaker and i can’t even act on my own feelings. what are people going to think?”  
  
jinsoul wipes a fake tear. “doesn’t matter. my baby, i’m so proud of you.”  
  
jiwoo reaches across to flick jinsoul on the forehead. the girl doesn’t even blink, still smiling giddily as she suggest jiwoo to ask jungeun out to prom.  
  
“if she says yes, then maybe you have a chance!” jinsoul nudges her, grinning. “go get your girl.”  
  
jiwoo nods, a small smile making its way onto her face. suddenly, she’s hopeful.  
  
but she also now has not one, but two promposals to execute.  
  
x x  
  
jiwoo sighs, looking down at the post-it again. she’s been planning this for four hours now, and at some point the sky had gone dark, leaving her with only the light from her table lamp.  
  
let’s see…  
  
> no flowers!!! she hates flowers!!!  
> a letter? NO  
> chocolates <3  
> take her to dinner  
> serenade………?  
> FUCK  
  
jiwoo impatiently scribbles out the cheesiest options, groaning in frustration. just as she’s about to give up, her phone screen lights up with a notification.  
  
it’s jungeun. she yelps.  
  
[jungeun] you got a 10.30 tomorrow  
[jungeun] yoo yeonjung has Love Troubles  
  
_oh, it’s just work_ . jiwoo can’t help the little sigh she lets out.  
  
_that’s disappointing._ _  
_  
[jiwoo] alright i’ll be there  
[jiwoo] thank you <3  
  
the heart emoji is sent before jiwoo can stop herself. _NO!!!!!!!! MISTAKES WERE MADE!!!!! MAN DOWN MAN DOWN!!!!!_ _  
_  
[jungeun] anytime  
  
[jungeun] is typing….  
[jungeun] online  
[jungeun] is typing….  
[jungeun] online  
[jungeun] is typing….  
  
jiwoo locks her phone, slamming her head onto the table. why the hell did she do that? she scrunches up the post-it, too embarrassed to look at anything jungeun-related. before she can throw her phone out the window, a notification pops up.  
  
[jungeun] <3  
[jungeun] <3  
[jungeun] <3  
[jungeun] im so glad you did that  
[jungeun] i wasn’t sure when we were gonna finally be on heart emoji terms  
  
jiwoo stops breathing. she hurriedly spams hearts back, not sure what else to say.

> FUCK  
> ASK HER YOU COWARD  
  
x x  
  
“so i’m sitting there and listening to yisup tell me the things he learns in lectures; and fuck! you know the only thing they teach the guys are how to put on a condom and STIs? what about consent and all that? it just gets swept under the rug like everything else, which is so upsetting, honestly…”  
  
jiwoo trails on for a while about feminism and the glaring double standards women have to face in society, absentmindedly hanging up some streamers. she stops when she notices that jungeun is staring at her.  
  
“what?”  
  
“nothing. it’s just… nothing.”  
  
“what!” jiwoo laughs when jungeun carries on with arranging the bouquet meant for hyunjin.  
  
“i said nothing!” jiwoo throws a streamer at her, and she finally relents.  
  
“it’s just… you’re woke as shit,” jungeun says, quickly going back to the task at hand.  
  
_oh. that’s it?_ _  
_  
she smiles anyway. “okay, that wasn’t so hard, was it? thanks!”  
  
“shut up,” jungeun replies, preparing a throw a ribbon back at jiwoo, before realising she needs it for the bouquet. she puts down her hand, quickly tying it up. jiwoo giggles at the sight, receiving a scowl in return. to think she hadn’t thought they were going to be friends.  
  
“where’s heejin, by the way?” jiwoo asks, already back to taping the remaining streamers on the wall.  
  
“huh? oh, heejin… she’s on her way,” jungeun answers.  
  
she can ask now. if she gets rejected, she can distract herself with the hyunjin promposal and then bolt the first thing right after. it’s a good time.  
  
she steels herself, inhaling deeply before turning to jungeun.  
  
“jungeun,” she calls. the girl hums to let her know she’s listening, but that’s not good enough for jiwoo. she calls again, making sure she has her attention.  
  
“are you… going to prom with anyone?”  
  
jungeun takes a moment to consider the question before she answers, “it’s an appropriated american tradition that celebrates sexism and perpetuates old stereotypes…” she stops laughing once she sees jiwoo’s face fall. “i uh… i don’t like proms. what about you? has anyone asked?”  
  
“no. no, not yet,” jiwoo hurriedly answers, turning back to the streamers. jungeun nods, averting her eyes to focus on the almost ready bouquet.  
  
she’s confused, disappointed, but mostly embarrassed. unknowingly, tears pool at the corners of her eyes, and she wipes them away before they can fall.  
  
_stupid, stupid!_ _  
_  
a few beats pass before…  
  
“shit!”  
  
jiwoo whips her head around to see blood spurting out of jungeun’s finger, scissors clattering onto the floor, a deep cut left behind in its wake. jungeun winces in pain, hissing, “can you go get a first aid kit?”  
  
jiwoo can only back away in shock, before realising the emergency at hand. she nods quickly, rushing out of the cafeteria and into the hallways.  
  
_shit, shit, shit. jungeun’s hurt! where the fuck is the first aid kit!_ _  
_  
jiwoo grabs the nearest person. it happens to be a freshman, who looks startled.  
  
“where can i find a first aid kit?!”  
  
“uhh the nurse’s office?”  
  
jiwoo furrows her eyebrows (almost comically, but she can’t see herself). “that’s in the other building! any other ideas, kid? my friend’s going to bleed to DEATH!”  
  
“UHHH the gym! the gym! they have one!” the frightened boy stammers out. jiwoo doesn’t even bother thanking him, already sprinting her way there.  
  
_oh god, oh god, OH GOD._ _  
_  
she rummages through the master cabinet in the gym, finally finding a tiny box with the red cross. she heaves a huge sigh of relief, taking off for the cafeteria. she ignores the burning in her calves, rushing through the doors and…  
  
_poof!_ she’s suddenly showered in confetti.  
  
jungeun is completely fine. in fact, she’s more than fine. the wound on her finger is cleaned up, and she’s already put up all the decorations on the wall for hyun… wait. she’s holding the bouquet, not heejin.  
  
in fact, heejin’s standing in a corner with hyunjin and a bunch of other familiar-looking people. there’s chaewon, hyejoo, joowon, haseul, jinsoul…  
  
she squints, reading the banner on the wall again.  
  
_jiwoo, will you go to prom with me?_     
  
she hears primary’s 'love' playing in the background (that’s her favourite song!) as she scans the well-decorated cafeteria quickly.  
  
jungeun takes a step towards her, smiling shyly as she holds out the sunflowers she was arranging earlier. she starts, trepidation in her voice, “i don’t really like proms, but i was thinking you could change my mind?”  
  
“you— what? you just said prom is an appropriated american tradition that celebrates sexism and perpetuates old stereotypes!” jiwoo replies, though her legs take her a step closer to the other girl.  
  
jungeun shrugs. they’re now merely inches apart. “i had to come up with something! you were gonna ask me and i wasn’t going to let that happen.”  
  
“so you decided that a fake injury and a shitty promposal was going to be the answer? you’re an idiot and a sap,” jiwoo says with a laugh, biting on her lip as she receives the flowers. jungeun reaches to remove some confetti that got stuck in her hair.  
  
jungeun frowns to hear that. “after i rejected yisup, he said something about asking you to prom and so i had to put this together within two days. the hyunjin thing was a lie,” jungeun says in reply, scratching her head awkwardly. “though now i see why you’d think i’m being insincere… to be fair, i was really worried you would agree to go with yisup because you totally would out of pity.”  
  
“you’re right, i wouldn’t have known how to turn him down, honestly… yes, by the way, i’d love to go to prom with you.”  
  
“wait, are you doing the same thing to me right now? because if you are you can just tell me and i’ll back off.“  
  
jiwoo shakes her head, taking jungeun’s hand. she furrows her eyebrows, “no, i actually like you. wait, are you asking me out of pity?”  
  
“what? no! i'm happy that i get to go to prom with you. more than happy, actually."  
  
"like very happy?" jiwoo jokes.  
  
"no... like more than that."  
  
"suuuuper happy?"  
  
jungeun throws her head back to laugh. "i'm the happiest woman alive," jungeun asserts before pulling jiwoo into a hug.  
  
"i like you too," jiwoo hears jungeun say into her ear, clear as day, even as all her former clients start whooping for joy in the background.  
  
x x  
  
jiwoo taps her leg impatiently, looking at a couple bickering in the distance. she takes a sip of her punch, trying to stop herself from walking over and giving them therapy.  
  
jungeun appears just in time, coming back from the washroom. she follows jiwoo's line of sight.  
  
"it's prom, stop that!" jungeun snickers.  
  
"i am trying my hardest not to walk over there right now," jiwoo replies, looking her date up and down. the red dress she has on is lovely, and still takes her breath away like it's the first time she's seeing her in it.  
  
"well, if you need a distraction i'll be more than happy to help."  
  
jiwoo stumbles a little, suddenly realising how close their faces are. their eyes flicker simultaneously to each other's lips.  
  
that is, until jungeun ruins the moment. "can i have this dance?"  
  
"no," jiwoo replies as jungeun starts back-tracking. she grabs her hand hurriedly, pulling her close. throwing caution to the wind, she leans in, seeing the other do the same.  
  
"you sure you don't want to go give them a therapy session?" jungeun says softly against jiwoo's lips.  
  
jiwoo closes her eyes, relishing the way she can feel her pounding heart in her ears.  
  
"fuck therapy," jiwoo mutters.  
  
"fuck therapy," is all jungeun manages, before closing the distance for good.

and if this is how good it feels, jiwoo would definitely choose jungeun over her job anytime.

**Author's Note:**

> talk to me!   
> twt: @2jinverse


End file.
